Lucknow: A political blame game has erupted over Bhole Baba, the self-styled godman who hosted the Hathras satsang where a stampede claimed the lives of at least 123 people earlier this week.
Both Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav have traded barbs over the godman, who goes by various names including Surajpal Jatav and Narayan Sakar Hari. While Adityanath referred to Jatav’s “political connections” as old photographs of Akhilesh at one of the latter’s religious congregations began doing the rounds on social media, the SP chief hit out at the CM and the state government for “shirking responsibility” by making needless arrests.
While Jatav has not been named as an accused in the FIR lodged in connection with the stampede, the police maintain they are searching for him. However, on Saturday morning, the godman made his first on-camera statement on the stampede in an interview to ANI. Breaking his silence, he said he was saddened by the incident and urged people to have faith in the administration, adding that he was “confident that those behind it will not be spared”.
Meanwhile, a video of Jatav’s convoy speeding away from the stampede site has also emerged on social media. ThePrint has verified the video’s authenticity.
The state police have so far arrested seven people in the connection with the stampede, including Dev Prakash Madhukar — identified in the FIR as the main organiser of the Hathras satsang — who surrendered Friday night. A Hathras court has sent Madhukar to 14 days’ judicial custody.
VIDEO | Hathras stampede: CCTV footage shows self-styled preacher Baba Narayan Hari alias Saakar Vishwa Hari 'Bhole Baba' leaving from the village (Phulrai) with his private convoy just after the incident. pic.twitter.com/t3yoTzVa74
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 4, 2024
Jatav’s lawyer A.P. Singh has claimed that a group of 15-16 people, who were drunk, had caused the stampede.
‘Chori bhi aur seena zori bhi’
On Saturday morning, Akhilesh shared on X a letter addressed to him by one Ankit Yadav, a resident of Bhanupur, who wrote that his father had been framed in the Hathras stampede case even though he was nowhere near the venue when the incident took place.
In his post, the former CM wrote: “The government and administration are needlessly arresting people who were away from the original venue with a specific motive and is preparing to hold them guilty after the arrest. These arrests are a conspiracy in themselves. There should be an immediate judicial inquiry into these arrests so that the game of the BJP government of UP can be exposed before the public.”
उप्र शासन-प्रशासन ‘हाथरस हादसे’ में अपनी नाकामी छुपाने के लिए, छोटी-मोटी गिरफ़्तारियाँ दिखाकर सैकड़ों लोगों की मौत से अपनी ज़िम्मेदारी का पल्ला झाड़ना चाहता है। अगर ऐसा हुआ तो इसका मतलब ये निकलेगा कि इस तरह के आयोजन में हुई शासनिक-प्रशासनिक विफलता से किसी ने कोई सबक़ नहीं लिया और… pic.twitter.com/JTopRml0SL
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) July 6, 2024
On Wednesday, CM Adityanath had, while addressing a press conference, alluded to photographs of Akhilesh at one of Bhole Baba’s events — which are circulating on social media — as he remarked that everyone was aware of the godman’s political connections.
“Some people have a tendency that they try to find politics in even sad and painful incidents and it is their nature to indulge in chori bhi aur seena zori bhi. Everyone knows with whom the gentleman (Jatav) has photos and with whom he has political connection,” he said.
He further said: “You must have seen in videos where such stampedes have lately occurred, and who was behind it, and I think it is important to delve into the matter and fix responsibility on those who play with the lives of innocents.” The CM appeared to be hinting at the reported stampede-like situations at rallies by Akhilesh and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.
On 3 January 2023, Akhilesh had posted pictures of himself attending an event of the godman.
नारायण साकार हरि की सम्पूर्ण ब्रह्मांड में सदा – सदा के लिए जय जयकार हो pic.twitter.com/lp4wTmaHal
— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) January 3, 2023
When mediapersons asked the SP chief if he would demand the Baba’s arrest, he said, “Which Baba’s arrest should be made? There are two Babas here.” — a veiled jibe at Yogi, who is also referred to as “Baba”.
Later, in Lucknow, Akhilesh commented on the plight of health services in the state, claiming deputy CM Brajesh Pathak wanted Adityanath to step down so he could claim his post.
“When the health minister wants to improve his political health, then who will pay attention to the department? He wants the chief minister to step down and himself become the CM. The CM also knows that he is after him, so he is not giving any budget to his department,” the former CM alleged.
Jatav was once in police force, was arrested in 2000
Police records accessed by ThePrint show Jatav was arrested in 2000 in connection with an incident where he claimed he would bring a teenage girl back to life.
On 18 March, 2000, Jatav, his wife and his supporters had allegedly stopped the 16-year-old girl’s family from performing her last rites and tried to convince them that he could bring her back to life.
Jatav, his wife and four of his supporters were then booked under the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act. The FIR was lodged at Agra’s Shahganj police station.
Speaking to ThePrint, a senior UP police officer said Jatav was appointed as a head constable in December 1970 and was attached with the local police intelligence (LIU) department in Agra in August 1995.
Etawah SSP Sanjai Kumar told ThePrint that Jatav was posted in Etawah from July 1994 to August 1995, when he was transferred to Agra.
The 2000 case against Jatav was ultimately closed. “A final report — a precursor to a closure report — was filed in the case by the investigating officer,” said UP ADG (law and order) Amitabh Yash.
Jatav went on to amass property across north India and his trust reportedly runs several ashrams in the region, including Mainpuri, Noida, Kanpur and Etawah. He runs ashrams in MP’s Gwalior and Rajasthan’s Dausa too.
Dainik Bhaskar reported that Jatav would hold congregations at the house of paper leak accused Harshvardhan Patwari in Dausa.
Jeet Bahadur, a retired revenue department employee from Firozabad, who is part of a district-level committee that organised a congregation of Bhole Baba in the district’s Tundla area in January 2023, said the district and regional committees are tasked with management of his congregations.
“He has his sevadaars who would help manage the crowd at the congregations. They all would be dressed in pink,” he told ThePrint.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)